Target has a signed a lease to take over the empty storefront formerly occupied by Kmart at 935 Sweetwater Road in Spring Valley. The retailer said last week that it expects to open a small-format store at the location in 2020 as part of its push into areas where full-size Targets don’t pencil...

Everyone agrees, Horton Plaza is dead. Whether or not the center’s postmodern essence should live on for the sake of posterity, however, is a matter that’s creating animus between historians, city staffers and the plaza’s new owner, Stockdale Capital Partners. In recent weeks, esteemed members...

The glossy movie, dining and entertainment complex known as Theatre Box opened its doors to the public Tuesday in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. A remake of the former Pacific and Reading cinema building at 701 Fifth Ave., Theatre Box is a 73,000 square-foot, celebrity-infused venue with eateries...

With bankruptcies more common than successful exits, some might say San Diego’s craft beer scene is tapped out. It’s certainly not the right climate to launch an all-new beer brand with an expansive (and expensive) tasting room at Carmel Valley’s also all-new One Paseo development. Or is it? Josh...

Shares of Jack in the Box surged nearly 6 percent Thursday after reports the San Diego fast food chain was exploring strategic options, including a possible sale. The 2,237-restaurant firm began talking to potential buyers this month, according to Reuters, which cited unnamed sources. There is...

Bankrupt Sears Holding Company wants a white knight to swoop in and save the brand by purchasing 505 owned and leased Sears and Kmart locations, including four in San Diego County. The company said last week in a bankruptcy filing that it hopes to keep the following local stores alive: The 150,380...

More Retail

The migrant caravan crisis that led to a five-hour closure in both directions of the busy San Ysidro Port of Entry on Sunday highlighted the far-reaching economic impact such disruptions can have on the San Diego region — from potential labor shortages to substantial business losses among border-area...

Customers at Artlexia were offered tangerine mineral water while they browsed the Mexican jewelry, art and crafts inside the North Park shop on Saturday. Shopkeepers put out hot cider and cookies at Magical Child, the children’s boutique on South Coast Highway in Encinitas. “We are very customer-oriented...

Wireless communications company AT&T is borrowing from Apple’s retail playbook with a glossy storefront at Westfield UTC, one of San Diego’s premier malls. The 3,500 square-foot store, which opened Friday, is meant to offer an inviting browsing or lounging experience for mall shoppers who want...

Megan Riiff of Chula Vista loves Black Friday. The 29-year-old came through the doors of the Target store in Mission Valley when it opened at 7 a.m. with her mother, sister and aunt. “I love being in the crowds, with the hustle and bustle and in the holiday spirit,” she said. “I know some people...

Jack in the Box franchise owners have filed a complaint with California regulators over fears that the company’s restructuring efforts could make them vulnerable to losing their restaurant leases. The National Jack in the Box Franchisee Association said Monday that it brought its concerns to the...

A number of shopping trends are converging to create quite the holiday oxymoron: Retail optimism despite major store closings and noticeably thinner crowds at malls on historically high foot-traffic days. For the holiday shopping season between November and January, Deloitte, which puts out an...

Oakland-based Blue Bottle Coffee, a specialty roaster popular with coffee aficionados, is slated to open its first San Diego store this spring at Carmel Valley’s under-construction One Paseo mixed-use project. A second cafe is planned for the downtown office project, Tower 180, later in 2019. The...

San Diego-based pet retailer Petco pledged Tuesday to stop selling all dog and cat food items containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives by May, throwing out millions in annual sales in the process. The decision, spearheaded by new CEO Ron Coughlin, is indicative of a broader commitment...

Selling fancy grocery bags was supposed to be a side project. Now, with orders streaming in from hundreds of stores, Jen and Farzan Dehmoubed are set to make millions selling a reusable bag to shoppers. The Carlsbad couple, both 39, are co-founders of Lotus Trolley Bag, a company that makes a popular...

For 83 years, members of the Wedeking family have been baking and serving cookies, layer cakes, doughnuts and bread in North County. But over the weekend, the family’s baking legacy came to a close. On Saturday morning, brothers Mike, Mark and Randy Wedeking posted a notice on the Escondido bakery’s...

A nondescript, tan and white industrial park building in Poway is where Halloween revelers are transformed into an Incredible, a Disney princess, Mario or Donald Trump. But this is not a local dressing room or seasonal pop-up costume shop. It’s the secretive headquarters of Disguise, a 31-year-old...

Folgers and a Bunn brewer aren’t cutting it for millennial workers. “Coffee” means something else to the Starbucks generation. That’s why trendy offices around San Diego have a sleek new latte machine humming quietly in their break rooms — the VendiBean robot. Designed by a couple of local college...

Starting Wednesday, Whole Foods shoppers in San Diego can opt for curbside grocery pickup, circumventing a trip inside the store. The Amazon-powered convenience is part of the e-commerce company’s broader push to connect its brick-and-mortar grocery business, purchased in 2017 for $14 billion,...

A big box no more, the space formerly occupied by Sears at Westfield UTC is being repurposed as a 226,200 square-foot, mixed-use center with retail, restaurants, entertainment and creative office. Called The Collection at UTC, the under-construction development is the brainchild of Seritage Growth...

For nearly 50 years, the Soto family has been riding on the success of its tasty carne asada known as “Kennedy’s Karne.” On Saturday, they celebrated both a new location and a new addition to the ownership family. On Saturday, Cardiff resident Mark M. Soto, 34, and his new business partner John...

Discount grocer Aldi is rolling out delivery service in San Diego, teaming up with Instacart to bring goods straight to its customers’ doors. The modern service is the latest upgrade for the German grocer, which has amassed a cult following in the U.S. in recent years. The store has become popular...

Marianne Reiner grew up in France in a family surrounded by so many books they joked about sleeping on hardbacks and paperbacks instead of beds. She thinks that’s where the dream of owning a bookstore first took hold. And now it’s coming true, with Friday night’s opening of Run For Cover in Ocean...